Breaking News: Michelangelo’s David Comes To Washington, DC For A Month

Have you heard that Italy is sending Michelangelo’s David to visit Washington, DC for a month?

The historic museum trip has 3 generous sponsors that provided free food unfortunately.

This brings up an important point:  How To Make The Body You Want last forever.

After you’ve cleaned up your diet, worked hard in the gym/ and/or at home, disciplined yourself to be consistent with all of the other demands on your time and energy, and navigated the myriad of obstacles and setbacks that are sure to come up, you will arrive at the body you wanted when you started.  Most people think that this is the end of the road.

No.  No.  No.

The conscious or unconscious belief that most people have is that eating better and exercising regularly is something that you do until your clothes fit again (or your arms are as big as you want them).  Then, after you look and feel the way you want to, then you can go back to what you were doing before you got in shape.  (Occasionally people will say this in a sentence, but usually they will demonstrate their belief with behavior.)

The way you used to eat and the way you used to exercise (or not exercise) was the problem. If you go back to your old lifestyle, then you will also go back to your old body.

The 3 Skills You Must Have To Make The Body You Want Last Forever

#1.  Learn how to come out of a spin: Just in case you weren’t aware, you are human.  That means that you are most definitely going to fall off the wagon at some point.  Maybe you’ll have to work 80-100hrs a week for a while, you’ll have a major family tragedy, get pregnant, or something else will get you off track.

The  common response to realizing that you’ve messed up is, “see, I always do this.  I messed up again.  I don’t know why I just can’t ever seem to keep it up.  I always fall off the wagon.  I don’t even know why I tried in the first place, I’m just a screw up.  I should just give up and stuff my face…”

I know how that feels, and I have most certainly been there too.  It’s not a good place.

People who are successful long term and people who fail long term have one thing in common:  They both fall off the wagon.

People who are successful long term and people who fail long term have one important difference too:  The successes pick themselves up ASAP, refocus on where they want to be and get started back there; the failures wallow in misery and spend their energy insulting themselves.

#2.  Start with the right attitude: Getting and keeping the body you want is a 3 step process:

• Step 1:  get it.  Do what it takes to get what you want.
• Step 2:  find out how many carbs you can eat, and how little exercise you can do to keep it.
• Step 3:  when you mess-up, reset, go back to #1

This is not a quick fix.  This is a new life.

#3.  Learn how to cook: Most people cannot cook period.  They only way that most people (or restaurants) can make their food taste good is by making it unhealthy – extra sugar, high fructose corn syrup and trans-fats.

Healthy food can and should be good food too.  Investing a few bucks in a good cookbook, and some time in learning how to cook will pay huge dividends in life – more energy, less fat, more muscle, and you might even impress somebody special in your life.

Here is my new favorite cookbook:

Josef Brandenburg is 2010, Washington, DC  Personal Trainer of the Year Nominee for both Personal Fitness Professional Magazine and The Washington, DC Fitness Association, The DC Fitness Advisor and the Fitness Expert for the PCOS Challenge TV Show. He shows normal people with hectic lives and average genetics how to create the bodies they want in the time they actually have. To find out more about the 7-Day Free Trial click here. You can also pick up a FREE copy of his brand new CD – “Why Eat Less and Exercise More is The Worst Advice Ever” here.